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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Healthy Processed Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #268694
Title: Quantitative determination of major polyphenol constituents in pomegranate products

Author
item QU, WENJUAN - University Of California
item Breksa, Andrew
item Pan, Zhongli

Submitted to: Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/23/2011
Publication Date: 12/11/2011
Citation: Qu, W., Breksa III, A.P., Pan, Z. 2011. Quantitative determination of major polyphenol constituents in pomegranate products. Food Chemistry. 132:1585-1591. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.11.106.

Interpretive Summary: A rapid and efficient HPLC method to determine the levels of the polyphenolics punicalagin A, punicalagin B, ellagic acid and gallic acid in pomegranate juice and pomegranate containing products was developed. This method may be used to verify the presence of pomegranate metabolites in products, or to detect adulteration.

Technical Abstract: The anti-oxidant content and potential health benefits associated with consuming pomegranate and pomegranate-containing products has lead to increased consumer demand for pomegranate resulting in pomegranate becoming a high value crop. The potential health benefits and high anti-oxidant content of pomegranate is attributed to the polyphenolic compounds it contains, including the ubiquitous phenolic acids, gallic acid and ellagic acid, and punicalagin A and punicalagin B, two polyphenolics unique to pomegranate. A rapid HPLC-UV method targeting these four metabolites requiring minimal sample cleanup and offering runtimes half as long as existing methods was established. Within day and inter-day run-to-run variability for the four metabolites ranged from 1.9% to 6.6% and 5.3% to 11.4%, respectively. Spike recovery percentages for gallic acid, punicalagin A, punicalagin B and ellagic acid were found to be 98.5%, 92.4%, 95.5%, and 96.5%, respectively. This method was applied to the evaluation of various pomegranate products, including commercial drinks, handmade juice, and marc extracts. This method may be readily used to verify the presence of pomegranate metabolites in juices, extracts, and other products